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#1 redking Jan 09, 2009 12:53:31

The 2nd ed defilers and preservers accessory brought about a whole slew of wizard characters that drew their spellcasting abilities from sources other than that of drawing energy from plant or animal life. This was drawing energy from the black, the gray, and the cerulean storm. Essentially what this did was create 3 new preserver class of wizards, although the explanation given was that one of these new wizards could be a "defiler", but that it was a matter of "personal ethics" not of damage to the environment (meaning they can be evil, but they are still essentially using magic that does not harm, and is thus preserving magic). Indeed, these new magic classes are even MORE preserving that regular preserving magic because there is no chance of over-drawing and defiling. These classes ("kits") essentially destroyed the the duality of preserving/defiling. This harms the mood of the setting, along with giving players an easy way to avoid the issue of defiling. In 3E, I propose that these character kits be revised to be the warlock class. Certain pacts, made by power hungry or misguided individuals, with denizens of the gray, the black, or with Tithian of the cerulean storm, give these people extraordinary powers, unseen on Athas until the disturbance created by the freeing, then re-imprisoning, of the first sorcerer. These individual make pacts granting them power, but few know that it would be better for them to have a millstone put around their necks and be drowned in the depths of the silt sea than to see what awaits them as the cost of their pacts at the time of their death. Having the warlock class gives players that really want them a chance to play them, and gives a sense of the aftermath of the Prism Pentad ("Rikus, there didn't use to be any men like this before, did there?"). It also removes the damage to the defiler/preserver concept caused by those De facto preserving wizard classes. It can be a spring board to adventure. Perhaps a warlock has a pact with the cerulean storm, and seeks to free Tithian. Perhaps he is a villain merely seeking power. Or perhaps he is not really a villain at all, but a Tyrian patriot that wants to free his king. Even so, they should be very rare. Any thoughts?